Forgiveness Isn't So Easy
by Sora Moto
Summary: Jack ponders on the Guardians' attitudes regarding the world and themselves after the battle with Pitch.


Good to note that this was inspired by the video on Youtube titled 'Jack Frost + I've Been Treated So Wrong'. Loved the music and it fit so well that I felt inspired to write this.

* * *

Jack had settled himself in the rafters of North's workshop after they returned from defeating Pitch. He had returned his tooth box to Tooth when they were collecting the teeth from Pitch's lair. SHe had smiled at him and Inquired about what he had seen, Jack forced himself to smile back as he told her he had gotten the answers he needed. Now he just found himself watching the other Guardians as they celebrated their victory. They were acting like everything was perfect and wonderful just because Pitch was gone, banished and consumed by nightmares. They acted like nothing was wrong and it grated on Jack's nerves.

For three hundred years they ignored him and treated him as if her were worthless. None of them would give him the time of day, always so busy with their own little worlds. Honestly it disgusted him. Yes he had turned Pitch down, multiple times, but that had more to do with Pitch going after kids. They were innocent in this, he felt that way anyway. Even if they hadn't believed in him, that wasn't their fault and he would never be mad at them for it. But the Guardians actively ignored him, they had known he existed and left him to wander the world aimlessly for centuries. Jack even agreed with Pitch on that fact, the Guardians didn't care about anyone but themselves. They only pretended to care about children because it gave them power and heaven forbid they share that power with anyone not a part of their little club.

Yes, Jack was bitter and he would probably never move past it unless the Guardians began to show some form of compassion for beings other than themselves. He didn't see that happening anytime soon and began to wonder when Pitch would manage to crawl out of his hole for another round, the guy seemed rather hard to keep down and he was right, you can't destroy fear. Looking at the Guardians he could tell it was the furthest thing from their minds. They didn't care that Pitch would come back, he was gone, out of sight out of mind, no need to worry about him ever again. Look where that cockiness had landed them.

Jack's center may have been fun, but it was hard to forgive people you knew would never trust you. Despite their begging him to join them at the beginning and the subsequent fight at the Tooth Palace where he had sided with them against Pitch. The discovery that he had no memory from before being made 'Jack Frost', and the sick joke that was their reaction to that, he could have done without their pity at that moment. After Sandy had fallen and they had banded together to bring Easter Jack had hoped they would accept him, maybe start to make things better between them. Then the disaster had happened and Pitch had ended that hope, the hope that Easter would be their salvation. They hadn't even tried to hear him out. He could have been beaten and bloody and they still would have yelled at him and cast him away. That was probably the moment Jack gave up on them, why not they had given up on him so long ago.

He hadn't taken Pitch's offer to work together, he didn't want children to fear him as a bringer of cold and dark and death. That had ended about as well as to be expected and Jack genuinely like the little fairy so he wouldn't just leave her to Pitch. She had shown him his memories while they sat at the bottom of that crevasse and Jack found his center, he knew why he was chosen and he also realized that in order to protect he would need the Guardians help. So he had helped them. He had made sure Jamie believed in them and he had fought with them against Pitch. They had won. Yet it felt hollow to Jack.

He understood where Pitch was coming from and he couldn't bring himself to fully trust the Guardians, even if he now was one. They hadn't made plans to change how they did things, hadn't apologized for the centuries of neglect or even the more recent blow up on Easter morning. They still felt they could do no wrong.

"Jack! Why you sit there so gloomy? Come, join party. Is to celebrate you being made Guardian."

Jack glanced down at north, and he almost felt bad for how ignorant the man was. All that childish wonder he was so proud of left him blind to the harsh truth of the world.

"Don't you guys ever get sick of it?"

All he received were a bunch of blank looks before Bunny broke in. "What do you mean mate?"

"Acting all high and mighty, ignoring where your problems come from until the dam breaks and someone like Pitch tries to find his place."

"Jack?"

"How many more people like Pitch do you think there are? Given my own experience I'd say dozens. How many centuries of loneliness and isolation does it take for someone to crack and go on a rampage? Do you ever think that maybe Pitch wouldn't be a problem if you had tried talking to him before just writing him off as a bad guy because it is in his nature to scare people?"

The Guardians were shocked at Jack's speech and Sandy seemed to realize what Jack was saying and he made an attempt to communicate this to his companions, but they ignored him. Fortunately Jack saw and realized the little man wasn't as bad as the others, he seemed to understand and he had made attempts to talk to Jack previously. Even if they had been brief.

Still the ignorance of the other three was aggravating.

"What are trying to say Jack? Pitch has always been like this."

"Bunny's right Jack, we didn't make Pitch. We became who we are in order to stop him."

"Beside it does not matter anymore, Pitch is gone and will not be back."

"Like before? You beat him back once before, but he came back."

"Will not happen again we will keep eye out for him, will not let him gain power again."

Before they can continue a disjointed ringing fills the air and all eyes turn to Sandy and the elf he had shaken to gain their attention. Above his head flew images in sand and when he finished there was silence.

"Jack, you were not just referring to Pitch."

"No, really?"

"Frostbite,"

"Save it Bunny, you wrote me off the fastest. I couldn't even say one word to you before you had me written off as a trouble making brat, you showed that quite well on Easter."

"Jack we didn't,"

"Didn't what, Tooth? Didn't think it would hurt to be left alone with no one to see me or talk to me. At least Sandy would say 'hello' when we would run across one another. None of the rest of you even tried that much. Do you even realize how tempting it was to join Pitch? He offered me the world at my fingertips, everything I ever wanted!"

"Then why turn him down and help us mate?"

"Because it was too easy. It was too easy to make people be afraid. It was easy and if It was easy I wanted I would have given in to that a long time ago, but I knew it was wrong and I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"Jack,"

"No. Look I've joined your club, but I won't play by your rules unless some changes are made in how you operate."

The others stay quiet and wait for Jack to continue.

"First, spend some time with the kids. Stop hiding from them all the time. Play with them. Second, reach out to other spirits, and yes this means Pitch. Its that whole golden rule thing of doing unto others. Maybe if you show him he doesn't have to be a 'world dominating fear monger' he'll actually be able to pull off 'functioning member of society'. And third, I get to throw snowballs at you all until you loosen up and have some fun." The last was said with a smirk on his face as the Guardians pondered his requests.

"Alright, we will do as you ask. No guarantees that Pitch will behave himself, but we will try."

"Good enough for me."

It may not fix things right away, but it was a step in the right direction and Jack could live with that.

* * *

I feel like the ending was a cop-out. I could have ended this in so many different ways, but this just happened. So love it, hate it, leave a comment.


End file.
